Tony Verruso is making his third appearance to the Golden
State. He came away empty in his first
trek in 2006, but in 2010, Tony cozied up to the circle of champions
twice. Unfortunately, the plus-minus for
these two native New Yorkers is a negative three. It is rumored that neither
has slept particularly well in the last five years with these losses weighing
heavily on their minds. But 2012 has
brought with it an opportunity to reverse the effects of this chronic insomnia.
On April 13 and 14, these two Italian-hope-to-be-stallions will
hope to redeem the prowess of their talents as part of the 7th
annual East-West Amateur Driving Challenge which will take place at Cal-Expo in
Sacramento, California. They will be
joined by teammates Steve Oldford and Peter Gerry.
Joe Faraldo drove his first race in 1980 at Goshen Historic Track
and has made his mark on the harness industry both on and off the track. He has
competed in races internationally at almost every Hippodrome in Italy, Belgium,
Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria. In 1986 he competed in an
international competition in Taranto, Italy and was encouraged to, and did
organize, the first World Cup of Amateur Racing ever conducted outside of
Europe in 1988 then repeated the effort in 2008. Joe is one of original participants
in the Billings amateur series and is the founder of the North American Amateur
Drivers Association and an honorary member of many European amateur
associations. Also, the North American Amateur Drivers Association under his
direction has hosted many international competitions and aided in others run by
local amateur clubs Joe has encouraged over the years. He continues to serve as
a Director of the USTA, Chairman of that group’s NYC District and served four
years as Chairman of the Board. Joe has also been the Chief Executive Officer
of the Standardbred Owners Association of NY and has guided horsemen through
years of contract negotiations and legislative battles to an end result that
Yonkers Raceway and all of New York State has enjoyed a renaissance in
Standardbred racing.
Teammate Anthony Verruso is the owner of a small embroidery shop
in Queens, NY. He makes many of the garments worn by amateur and professional
harness racing individuals... He acquired his love for the sport at 10 years
old going to Roosevelt and Yonkers Raceways with his Mom and Dad on weekends.
Verruso is well known for driving numerous hours just for the thrill of a
2-minute race. He has been driving for 13 years and last year was named
President of the CKG Billings Harness Drivers Association. He has won the
Billings Gold Cup once and last year finished 1st in the Eastern Division.
When asked to comment, Tony said this about the upcoming
race. “This is my third trip to Cal-Expo
and I cannot tell you how well they treat us. I go all over the eastern U.S. to race in one
or two races on the card, and often they are non-wagering races. Here, I am thrilled to race in eight races
over the two nights. This is such a
great concept and I sure hope that California racing continues so other
Billings drivers can enjoy what I have over the last several years.” He went on to say, “just like Joe Willie
promised back in ’69, I guarantee a win this year! Okay, maybe not guarantee, but my wife says
if you come home without the trophy; prepare to be mucking out stalls for the
next 12 months!”
